Stock Market Investment Tips(16 - 20)

16. Recognize the Signs of a Top.Whether it is tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland, gold in 1849, or Beanie Babies and Internet stocks in the 1990s, any time a crowd has unanimously agreed that a certain investment is a "can't lose" opportunity, you are probably best off to avoid that investment. The tide is likely to soon turn. Also, when you see people making investments that they have no business making (think bellboys giving tips on bonds, auto mechanics day-trading stocks in their shops, or successful doctors giving up medicine to "flip" real estate), that's also a sign to search for the exits.
17. Look for Quality.
If you focus your attention on companies that have wide economic moats, you will find firms that are virtually certain to have higher earnings five or 10 years from now. You want to make sure that you focus your attention on companies that increase the intrinsic value of their shares over time. These afford you the luxury of being patient and holding for a long time. Otherwise, you are just playing a game of chicken with the stock market.  

Stock Market Investment Tips(1- 15)

1. Keep It Simple.Keeping it simple in investing is not stupid. Seventeenth-century philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, "All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone." This aptly describes the investing process.
Those who trade too often, focus on irrelevant data points, or try to predict the unpredictable are likely to encounter some unpleasant surprises when investing. By keeping it simple--focusing on companies with economic moats, requiring a margin of safety when buying, and investing with a long-term horizon--you can greatly enhance your odds of success.  
2. Have the Proper Expectations.
Are you getting into stocks with the expectation that quick riches soon await? Hate to be a wet blanket, but unless you are extremely lucky, you will not double your money in the next year investing in stocks. Such returns generally cannot be achieved unless you take on a great deal of risk by, for instance, buying extensively on margin or taking a flier on a chancy security. At this point, you have crossed the line from investing into speculating. Though stocks have historically been the highest-return asset class, this still means returns in the 10%-12% range. These returns have also come with a great deal of volatility. (See Lesson 103 for more.) If you don't have the proper expectations for the returns and volatility you will experience when investing in stocks, irrational behavior--taking on exorbitant risk in get-rich-quick strategies, trading too much, swearing off stocks forever because of a short-term loss--may ensue.
 3. Be Prepared to Hold for a Long Time.

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation, leading developer of personal-computer software systems and applications. The company also publishes books and multimedia titles, offers e-mail services, and sells electronic game systems, computer peripherals (input/output devices), and portable media players. It has sales offices throughout the world. In addition to its main research and development centre at its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, U.S., Microsoft has opened research labs in Cambridge, England (1997); Beijing, China (1998); Mountain View, California (2001); Aachen, Germany (2003); Sadashivnagar, Bangalore, India (2005); Cairo, Egypt (2006); and Cambridge, Massachusetts (2008).

Founding and early growth

In 1975 Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen, two boyhood friends from Seattle, converted BASIC, a popular mainframe computer programming language, for use on an early personal computer (PC), the Altair. Shortly afterward, Gates and Allen founded Microsoft, deriving the name from the words microcomputer and software. During the next few years, they refined BASIC and developed other programming languages. In 1980 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) asked Microsoft to produce the essential software, or operating system, for its first personal computer, the IBM PC. Microsoft purchased an operating system from another company, modified it, and renamed it MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). MS-DOS was released with the IBM PC in 1981. Thereafter, most manufacturers of personal computers licensed MS-DOS as their operating system, generating vast revenues for Microsoft; by the early 1990s it had sold more than 100 million copies of the program and defeated rival operating systems such as CP/M, which it displaced in the early 1980s, and later IBM OS/2. Microsoft deepened its position in operating systems with Windows, a graphical user interface whose third version, released in 1990, gained a wide following. By 1993, Windows 3.0 and its subsequent versions were selling at a rate of one million copies per month, and nearly 90 percent of the world’s PCs ran on a Microsoft operating system. In 1995 the company released Windows 95, which for the first time fully integrated MS-DOS with Windows and effectively matched in ease of use Apple Computer’s Mac OS. It also became the leader in productivity software such as word-processing and spreadsheet programs, outdistancing longtime rivals Lotus and WordPerfect in the process.
Microsoft dramatically expanded its electronic publishing division, created in 1985 and already notable for the success of its multimedia encyclopaedia, Encarta. It also entered the information services and entertainment industries with a wide range of products and services, most notably the Microsoft Network and MSNBC (a joint venture with the National Broadcasting Company, a major American television network).
As a result, by the mid-1990s Microsoft, which became a publicly owned corporation in 1986, had become one of the most powerful and profitable companies in American history. It consistently earned profits of 25 cents on every sales dollar, an astonishing record. In the company’s 1996 fiscal year, it topped $2 billion in net income for the first time, and its unbroken string of profits continued, even during the Great Recession of 2008–09 (its net income had grown to more than $14 billion by fiscal year 2009). However, its rapid growth in a fiercely competitive and fast-changing industry spawned resentment and jealousy among rivals, some of whom complained that the company’s practices violated U.S. laws against unfair competition. Microsoft and its defenders countered that, far from stifling competition and technical innovation, its rise had encouraged both and that its software had consistently become less expensive and more useful. A U.S. Justice Department investigation concluded in 1994 with a settlement in which Microsoft changed some sales practices that the government contended enabled the company to unfairly discourage OS customers from trying alternative programs. The following year the Justice Department successfully challenged Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Intuit Inc., the leading maker of financial software for the PC.

Company Name: Sony

Full Description

Sony Corporation (Sony), incorporated on May 7, 1946, is engaged in the development, design, manufacture, and sale of various kinds of electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional and industrial markets, as well as game consoles and software. Sony’s primary manufacturing facilities are located in Japan, Europe, and Asia. Sony also utilizes third-party contract manufacturers for certain products. Sony’s products are marketed throughout the world by sales subsidiaries and unaffiliated distributors, as well as direct sales through the Internet. Sony is engaged in the development, production, manufacture, marketing, distribution and broadcasting of image-based software, including motion picture, home entertainment and television products. Sony is also engaged in the development, production, manufacture, and distribution of recorded music. Further, Sony is also engaged in various financial service businesses, including life and non-life insurance operations through its Japanese insurance subsidiaries, banking operations through a Japanese Internet-based banking subsidiary and leasing and credit financing operations through a subsidiary in Japan. In addition, Sony engages in a network service business and an advertising agency business in Japan.
In December 2009, Sharp Display Products Corporation, a joint venture between Sony and Sharp Corporation for the production and sale of large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and modules was established. In January 2010, the Company's Sony Electronics acquired Convergent Media Systems, a provider of video integration solutions to the enterprise market. In February 2010, the Company established a wholly owned subsidiary, Sony Network Entertainment Inc., in the United States to function as the Company's integrated planner and operator of Internet-based content delivery services to owners of Sony televisions, game machines and other hardware.
Consumer Products and Devices

9 Natural Cures for Prostate Cancer

Prostate gland is a small gland in men which is situated below the urinary bladder. The size of this gland increases with age and at times it can cause pain and discomfort while urinating. However, prostate cancer is not related to the enlargement of this gland. It is a condition in which the cells within the gland start growing uncontrollably.
During the initial stages, urinary problems are usually the only symptoms of a prostate cancer. Old men are mostly prone to this disease and its development is rather slow. Mostly, it doesn’t cause any serious issue but in certain cases it may spread to other regions.

Treatment For prostate cancer

Radiation, surgery and chemotherapy are the major treatments available for prostate cancer. These procedures might cause certain side effects but they can be resolved with the help of certain natural cures that are quite simple and that have a potential to heal prostate cancer at its initial stages.

Natural Cures For Prostate Cancer

1.    Ginger

• Ginger is a powerful herb and its roots posses certain antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. When consumed on a regular basis, it inhibits the proliferation of cancerous cells and thus helps in treating prostate cancer.
• Taking ginger is also good for patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. Ginger can help them in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy such as vomiting and nausea.
• You can either drink its raw juice or mix it with honey to make it sweet.

2.    Tomatoes

• Tomatoes contain an active ingredient known as lycopene which is a strong antioxidant. This ingredient helps in preventing the occurrence and spread of cancer.
• You can either eat raw tomatoes or take processed tomatoes in the form of ketchup, tomato soups or spaghetti sauce.

What To Eat Now: Eggs, cholesterol and my fridge

Nutritionist Ian Marber weighs on the eggs-in-the-fridge storage debate, and foods that can help lower cholesterol absorption

What To Eat Now: Eggs, cholesterol and my fridge Photo: Cala Molden

I had friends from the country to stay in London last week and, being a good host, I made them breakfast. Over eggs and coffee the husband asked why I kept my eggs in the fridge. The conversation moved to other burning questions about eggs - should one eat the yolk and do eggs lead to high levels of cholesterol.